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Then please explain Indian's all new AIR-cooled motorcycle then?



My take is they didn't want to commit commercial SUICIDE.
Of course the Indian is an AIR-cooled motorcycle, Dwight.
What chances would Polaris have of any success if they RE-introduced (yet again) an iconic brand with massive air-cooled heritage by installing a water-cooled engine ... zilch!
I don't think they had a choice.

Besides, they can still get away with air-cooled for a while.
Also, HD are starting to slip in water-cooling into some of their engines/models (and I don't mean the V-Rod).
You'll probably find Indian following in their footsteps at some point.

What do you think?

Regarding Triumph's "perfect-retro" machine ... look at the twin cylinder engine development timeline.

Circa 2001 - 790cc (Bonnie)
Circa 2004 - 865cc
Important to note here is that the 865 was an extension to the 790 with limited costs
since no real capital outlay for major re-tooling was required etc.
Circa 2005/6 - Commencement of development of the water-cooled engine used currently by the T-Bird.

To me, as I said in my previous post, their resources and efforts were focused on the latter engine after 2005 and Triumphs's somewhat tight model strategy doesn't surprise me at all. I am also under the impression that they logically wouldn't have wanted to dilute the market outcome of the Bird, by concurrently developing an "in between" and competing model. That would have been extremely stupid and with that in mind, I don't think they missed any "golden opportunity".

Remember, our models (as does the Scrambler and the Thruxton) only exist because of the Bonneville and it's engine, which again kept costs relatively low as they didn't need to develop a new powerplant. Heck, even for the first model year of the America it was called the Bonneville America, until they decided it was a marketing blunder and changed it.

What I/we would have liked to have seen (air-cooled 1000-1200cc), unfortunately is another matter. That would have made a neat, hot-rod, flickable and even better planted cruiser (provided they kept the weight relatively low - ideally perhaps around 10 per cent over the current America/Speedmaster).

Bedouin. Blessed are those eyes that have seen more roads than any man! (Homer).